Europe

ROME, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Italy has exceeded 100,000, according to the latest tally posted by the country's Civil Protection Department on Saturday.

Recoveries jumped by 4,008 compared with 99,023 recoveries on Friday, bringing the nationwide total to 103,031.

Meanwhile, the number of active infections fell by 3,119 from 87,961 on Friday to 84,842.

ROME (AP) — South Korea’s capital closed down more than 2,100 bars and other nightspots Saturday because of a new cluster of coronavirus infections, Germany scrambled to contain fresh outbreaks at slaughterhouses, and Italian authorities worried that people were getting too friendly at cocktail hour during the country’s first weekend of eased restrictions.

The new flareups — and fears of a second wave of contagion — underscored the dilemma authorities face as they try to reopen their economies.

BRAZZAVILLE, May 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Up to 190,000 people in Africa could die of coronavirus in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, the World Health Organisation warned.

The UN health agency cited a new study by its regional office in Brazzaville which found that between 83,000 and 190,000 could die and 29 to 44 million be infected during the period.

The research is based on prediction modelling and covers 47 countries with a total population of one billion, the WHO said in a statement.

LONDON, May 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Another 626 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 31,241, Environment Secretary, George Eustice, said yrsterday (Friday).

The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

Earlier in the day, the National Health Service (NHS) England, said, a six-week-old baby has become one of the latest to die, after testing positive for the COVID-19.

ROME, May 9 (NNN-XINHUA) – Italy posted a decrease in COVID-19 intensive care cases and hospitalisations, as the death toll pushed past the 30,000 mark, according to the latest number released by the country’s Civil Protection Department.

The nationwide total of active infections fell by 1,663 cases to 87,961, down from a total of 89,624 infections on Thursday.

Of those who tested positive for the virus, 1,168 are in intensive care (down by 143 patients compared with Thursday’s) and 14,636 are hospitalised with symptoms (down by 538 patients).

LONDON, May 9 (NNN-XINHUA) – New car registration in Britain plunged by 97.3 percent in Apr, hitting record low in decades, as the nation was in lock-down for the entire month to tackle COVID-19.

With showrooms closed and car buyers housebound, just 4,321 new cars were registered in the month, merely above the 4,044 units sold in Feb 1946, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

MOSCOW, May 8. / TASS /: Russia has the potential to build up sovereign debt, said the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina during an online conference on Friday.

"We really have a fairly low debt, one of the lowest. Of course, we have the potential to increase sovereign debt in some way," she said. "A certain increase in public debt is possible, it is being discussed, but we must do it carefully. The Central Bank does not plan to participate in the direct redemption of the sovereign debt," she said.

MOSCOW, May 8. /TASS/: Material aid provided to Russians who cannot return home over the restrictive measures covers about 15,000 people, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova announced Friday.

"A total of 1 billion rubles [$13,656,111] has been allocated for this. We conduct payments that cover over 15,000 people," she said.

There are issues with payments that prevent people from receiving them, she admitted.

MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/: Firefighters found six bodies while extinguishing a fire in the village of Timirovo in Bashkortostan in the Volga area, the press office of Russia’s Emergencies Ministry told TASS on Saturday.

"At 04:09 local time, a report came about a fire in a separate house in the community of Timirovo in the Republic of Bashkortostan. During the fire-fighting effort, six dead persons were found. Their identities are being established. One man born in 1988 was injured. He received medical assistance," the ministry said.

MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/: The second Il-76 military transport plane with Russian servicemen who helped Italy fight the coronavirus landed at the Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Saturday.